It took a lay-in by freshman forward Isaac Celiscar off a nifty assist from junior forward Nick Townsend assist with eight seconds remaining to give Yale a 72-71 win over upset-minded Penn at John J. Lee Amphitheater Friday..
“We were trying to iso [senior guard] John [Poulakidas] and Nick,” Yale coach James Jones said. “Nick is as unselfish as they come.”
Yale (15-6, 8-0 Ivy) led Penn (6-15, 2-6) by as many as 16 points in the first half (26-10) after a layup by junior forward Casey Simmons.
Penn cut the deficit to 33-29 on a trey by sophomore guard Niklas Polonowski.
Yale led 37-32 at the half.
Yale survived a subpar performance from Poulakidas, the Ivy League’s leading scorer at 19.9 points per game. He had 10 points on 4-for-15 shooting, including 0-for-6 from three-point range.
“Goes to the depth of our team,” Jones said.
Yale’s lead grew to 10 in the second half (61-51), but the Quakers went on a run and grabbed their first lead, 68-67, at the 3:27 mark on a trey from sophomore guard Sam Brown.
Penn closed the game on a 20-11 run.
The Quakers, seventh in the Ivy in rebounding, outrebounded the league-leading Bulldogs, 38-32.
Penn shot 55% from the field and 53% from long distance in the second half.
“They had a great game plan,” Jones said.
Yale was led in scoring by senior guard Bez Mbeng with 18 points, including 14 in the first half.
Brown delivered a game-high 23 points on 9-for-16 shooting.
Yale committed only three turnovers.
Steve Donahue coached an excellent offensive game, exploiting mismatches and, at a frenetic pace, coaching as if his job was on the line. Maybe it was.
Yale improved to 8-0 at home, and its 8-0 Ivy start matches last season.
Yale hosts Princeton at 8 p.m. Saturday night on ESPNU. Penn plays at Brown at 6 p.m.